At Sundance’s final blowout in Park City, killer unicorns and unraveling pop stars take the stage

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Sundance Film Festival always feels like a fresh start for me. The first time I went to Park City, I was completely on my own. I managed to find a place to stay – a bunk bed in a room with three other women – by reaching out to someone I barely knew and jokingly offering to share space with anyone who didn’t mind my boyfriend’s comment about my snoring.

It’s been 16 years, and I still have strong memories of those times. I remember late nights spent on a shuttle, trying to figure out where to get off, and one afternoon getting completely stuck in the snow while trying to take a shortcut – a painful lesson in the quality of affordable footwear! But I also vividly recall discovering amazing new films that year, including early works by the Safdie brothers, Luca Guadagnino, and Taika Waititi, and being blown away by Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone.”

It took a while to feel at home in Park City, learning my way around the theaters and building friendships. I’ve made some memorable connections here – one friend broke his arm and laptop in an icy fall, and another gifted me the red mittens I’ve worn every Sundance for the past ten years. (I actually lost one of them at a screening this year!) I’ve been preparing to say goodbye to this town for the last two festivals, knowing Sundance will move to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027. The Egyptian Theatre on Main Street isn’t showing films this year, a sign of the festival gradually winding down, but I remember a colleague practically forcing a small group of us critics to see “Hereditary” there. He was a huge early champion of Ari Aster, and now he’s actually my editor – hi, Josh Rothkopf!

It’s hard to believe Robert Redford is gone. He was a true pioneer, almost mythic in his creation of the Sundance Film Festival – like a modern-day Zeus bringing something incredible into being. We’ll all really miss him.

During a Q&A after his 11th film premiered at Sundance, Araki wondered aloud how the film’s idea had originated. He then expressed his deep admiration for Robert Redford, calling him a legend. A young fan sitting nearby was equally enthusiastic, cheering loudly for Araki and even apologizing for his excitement.

Director Araki delivers a provocative and over-the-top comedy, “I Want Your Sex.” Olivia Wilde plays Erika, a rebellious artist known for pushing boundaries, whose latest piece is a massive chewing gum sculpture of a vagina. She believes art demands attention, and Erika herself actively seeks it, initiating sexual encounters with her significantly younger assistant, Elliot (Cooper Hoffman), in increasingly public and unconventional places, like a bathroom stall and while wearing pink lingerie.

Erika’s performance isn’t strong, but Wilde is captivating. She commands attention with her proud delivery and striking features, and her costumes are incredible. The movie attempts a murder mystery, but the plot is so convoluted it’s hard to take it seriously. However, Hoffman, playing Erika’s weak partner, embraces the humiliation and enjoys the strange situation, and honestly, so did I.

It’s true that art needs an audience. People at festivals like Sundance aren’t just there for entertainment; they’re hoping to discover the next great filmmaker, like Araki, Aster, or the Safdie brothers—and distributors are looking to sign them for a reasonable price. Getting an independent film seen requires funding, and right now, it’s a major challenge to find enough money to market a unique film to an audience that’s constantly bombarded with options.

My rideshare driver announced she was running for state senate as we sat in traffic, and explained her frustration that Utah hadn’t done more to keep the Sundance Film Festival local, believing it brought significant financial benefits. I responded that I’d heard Park City had actually determined it was more profitable to focus on wealthy skiers than on hosting the festival and its critics.

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Filmmakers and actors at the Sundance Film Festival shared their reactions to the recent passing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and discussed the continuing ICE raids in Minnesota. They also explored the power of art to capture and comment on current events.

My experiences at the Sundance Film Festival haven’t usually been very exciting. I rarely get to go to parties, and when I do, it’s usually just standing around awkwardly in my socks, hoping for some chili. The one exception was a year I was on a jury with actor Keegan-Michael Key. I met him on Friday while he was promoting Casper Kelly’s strange and unusual midnight movie, “Buddy” – which feels like a dark and twisted version of a “Barney” episode. In the film, Key plays a giant orange unicorn who hosts a children’s show and makes kids hug him or face deadly consequences. While it’s not as complex as some of Kelly’s other wonderfully bizarre projects like “Too Many Cooks” and the “Adult Swim Yule Log,” you get the feeling there’s a lot more weirdness beneath the surface, and he’s already planning a sequel.

I always feel like Sundance is where you see real talent start to shine. It’s amazing to think that just nine years ago, John Wilson – who now has this incredible HBO series, “How to With John Wilson” – was here barely scraping by. He even made a funny, slightly cynical short film about how awkward the festival could be! He told me no one’s ever mentioned that old short to him during this trip, which is kind of wild. Now he’s back with his first feature film, “The History of Concrete,” and it feels like a full circle moment. It just shows you never know where things will start at Sundance.

“The History of Concrete” feels like an extended version of Wilson’s show, exploring the surprisingly fascinating world beneath our feet. He examines everything from gum stuck to sidewalks to the tiniest streets in America. Despite being everywhere we look, Wilson points out that concrete is a relatively recent invention, and it’s already starting to fall apart, which could become a serious problem.

Throughout his journey, Wilson tries to get funding for his documentary through Zoom calls, but faces rejection. Frustrated, he even researches what makes a successful Hallmark movie. The film suggests that our support for the arts and public services is crumbling, and true talent, like his, is struggling to survive in the gaps.

Many films this year are exploring how money impacts artistic expression. One example is Aidan Zamiri’s new film, “The Moment,” which I’ll be reviewing fully next week. It’s a deliberately unsettling and visually intense movie where the British pop star Charli XCX plays a version of herself battling the pressures of the music industry. Though presented as a mockumentary, it feels more like a horror film about losing one’s artistic integrity. Alexander Skarsgård is particularly hilarious as a concert documentary director who flatters corporate executives while subtly undermining Charli’s confidence. He’s a manipulative figure – similar to the villain from the ‘Saw’ movies, but with a trendy manbun – who preaches self-reliance while systematically breaking her down.

Charli says she’s left her carefree summer behind and is now focused on a new chapter, filming two movies in Park City, including one called “I Want Your Sex.” However, she feels like this moment is also coming to a close. Speaking to the audience at the Eccles Theater, she explained that both the film and this period in her life are ending.

I was really struck by how “The Moment” connected with Joanna Natasegara’s film about the story behind Wu-Tang Clan’s unique album, “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.” It’s a fascinating, and ultimately sad, tale. They only made one copy, and it ended up being bought by Martin Shkreli – a name now associated with scandal – for a reported $2 million, supposedly just to show off to his wealthy peers. What started as an ambitious idea – RZA and Cilvaringz aiming to elevate rap music by treating the album like a priceless masterpiece – quickly turned into a public relations nightmare, with many accusing them of betraying their artistic principles.

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There are lots of ways to create a tour film that shows what it’s like for musicians while they’re traveling and performing.

The film features incredible archival footage. One scene, from the album’s listening party, is particularly memorable – the RZA’s Shaolin monk mentor astonished everyone by performing a full leg split. As one attendee joked, it was an impressive display! The documentary doesn’t mention a 2016 tweet where Martin Shkreli threatened to leak the album if Donald Trump won the election, but it does cover Shkreli’s later seven-year prison sentence for fraud. The Wu-Tang Clan record itself was seized and ultimately sold by the government to an NFT collective for twice its original value.

The new owners of the album held a listening session for us right after its premiere at Sundance. We all had to put our phones in secure pouches, and then we listened to about 20 minutes of the music played through some unusual, ATM-like speakers. The album began with gentle wind sounds, quickly building into an intense mix of thunder, sirens, sword fights, and gunshots, all over a cool, funky beat. I particularly enjoyed the title track; it felt like the music for a hero confidently walking into battle, before unexpectedly turning chaotic with swirling violins. We were told Cher sang on the album somewhere, but I didn’t notice her signature voice.

We all mostly stayed quiet, as if worried any movement would ruin the music. But those in the back had heard the song before and kept right on chatting, treating it like a normal party. It felt wrong, definitely. But it was also a way of taking back the art, enjoying it freely instead of treating it like something sacred.

Everyone was still having a blast, but I really needed to track down the lost and found. Luckily, they’d posted a picture of my mitten online! It was so weird, though – I couldn’t actually find the lost and found office itself. No one, not even the information desk, seemed to know where it was! But they were super nice and actually walked my mitten all the way over to me. What a relief! I was so glad to have it back – I’m definitely not ready for my Park City winter fun to be over just yet!

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2026-01-26 00:32